The Loudest Vacation
by Nathanoraptor
Summary: Join the Loud siblings and company, for a story of fun, love, excitement and prehistoric sea monsters. Yes; it's that kind of story.
1. Prologue: Aberrant Forms

In the fading afternoon light, the car trundled down the rickety path, heading towards the beach. The last signs of human habitation had disappeared ten minutes ago; now there was only patches of grass, the occasional tree and mile after mile of sand. Sitting beside the driver, Bill Jacobs stared out the window as the coastline swept past. There weren't even any roads in this area, aside from the rickety coast road.

Jacobs was a forensic zoologist who was a consultant for the local police; for example, several years ago, when a man had been caught selling sea turtle shells. Jacobs' analysis had identified the shells as belonging to a protected species. He turned to the driver and said, "How much farther?"

"Five minutes, sir."

Jacobs turned and said, "It won't be long now." But the tall man sitting next to him didn't answer, or even acknowledge that he had been spoken to. He merely sat, with his hand on his chin, and stared frowning out the window.

Henry Ogden wore sun-faded field khakis, and an Australian slouch hat pushed low over his head. A battered pair of binoculars hung around his neck. But despite his rugged appearance, Ogden conveyed an air of scholarly absorption. Behind his wire-frame spectacles, his features were sharp, his expression intense and critical as he looked out the window.

Ogden was a marine biologist who normally worked as a consultant to the nearby Marine Biology Institute; Jacobs would contact him to look at the occasional beached whale or dolphin.

Jacobs smiled at Ogden's snub. After all these years, Ogden had not changed at all. He was still one of the most brilliant and irritating men in science. The two had known each other a long time. Ogden was famous for his photographic memory, his sharp tongue, and the unconcealed pleasure he took in pointing out the errors of colleagues.

Ogden turned to Jacobs "What is this place?"

"It's called Aloha Beach. Tourist resort."

"I'm guessing this is a deserted part?"

"Yeah. Most tourists stay on the main beach area, about 10 miles north."

Ogden stared at the coast road they drove on. "Road looks pretty uneven," he said. "How was the thing found?"

"Couple of tourists," said. "Saw it on the beach."

"When was that?"

"Yesterday. They took one look at the thing, and ran like hell."

"Guys," the driver said, interrupting them, "The bay's just ahead."

Ogden looked out the window, his expression intense again, the conversation forgotten. The beach was deserted. The Jeep approached the sandbar. "There it is now," Jacobs said, pointing out the window.

The beach was a clean, curving white crescent, entirely deserted in the evening light. As they looked, they saw a single dark mass in the sand. From a distance, it looked like a rock.

"Who's been here?" Ogden said, with a sigh.

"Coast Guard came out earlier today."

"Did they do anything?" he said. "They touch it in any way?

"I can't say," Jacobs said.

"The Coast Guard," Ogden repeated, shaking his head. "What do they know? "

"Hey," Jacobs said. "I don't run this place. They wanted to destroy it; at least I managed to keep it intact until you arrived. I don't know how long they'll wait."

"Then we'd better get started," Ogden said. He pressed the button on his mike. "We're losing light and I want to see this thing first-hand."

Henry Ogden ran across the sand toward the dark shape. Even from a distance, he could smell the stench of decay. And already he was logging his preliminary impressions. The carcass lay half-buried in the sand, surrounded by a thick cloud of flies. The skin was bloated with gas, which made identification difficult.

He paused a few yards from the creature, and took out his camera. Immediately, a Coast Guard officer came up alongside him, pushing his hand down. "Sorry, no pictures."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, sir. No photos allowed."

"Why the hell not?" Ogden said. He turned to Jacobs. "Bill, why no pictures?"

"No photos," the officer said again, yanking the camera out of Ogden's hand. Ogden stared at him. "Just go ahead and make your examination," Jacobs said.

Ogden stared a moment, then turned away. The hell with this, he thought. He hurried forward, breathing through his mouth. The odor became much stronger as he approached it. Although the carcass was large, he noticed there were no birds, rats, or other scavengers feeding on it. Reaching the carcass, he began to make his first impression.

Even so, it was clear that this had been a substantial creature, some twenty feet long. The dry skin had cracked in the sun and was now peeling upward, exposing the layer of fat underneath. Despite that, the carcass was surprisingly well-preserved; it could have only been dead a couple of days at most.

His original suspicion of it being a decomposing bottlenose was quickly dismissed. Firstly, it had been counter-shaded, unlike a bottlenose's uniform grey. A Commerson's perhaps, or a subadult orca; but it was too big to be the former and he knew of no orca pods that inhabited the area. Besides, the animal lacked an orca's prominent dorsal fin; in fact, there was no evidence of a dorsal fin at all. Whilst its skin was hairless, it did not have the rubbery skin of a whale or dolphin; rather, the skin was covered in fine scales of varying sizes, like a lizard or a snake. This texture varied in different parts of the animal, the scales larger and less distinct on the underbelly.

But the carcass was large. Ogden estimated the animal had originally weighed close to a ton. No reptiles grew that large anywhere in the world, except the saltwater crocodiles of Australia. Of course, it was conceivable that this was a misplaced alligator; possibly escaped or released. Alligators turned up in strange places, and some grew quite large. Even so, this would be a record-size animal.

Ogden moved slowly around the carcass, toward the front of the animal. No, he thought, it wasn't an alligator. The carcass lay on its side, its left rib cage toward the sky. Nearly half of it was buried; much of the tail and the back side of the animal was under sand. The head was, comparatively small and pointed, lacking a cetacean's melon or blowhole; the jaws were filled with conical, serrated teeth. Ogden saw its limbs, which were large, paddle-like flippers; there were four of them in all, unlike those of a whale or a dolphin. Whilst the tail was half-buried in sand, he got a good look at the tip, which was fluked; however, it had the vertical fluke of a shark, rather than a dolphin's horizontal one. The body did not match a cetacean's either, being long and vaguely serpentine, as opposed to the bullet-shaped body of any cetacean he knew of.

In fact, the more Ogden saw of this carcass, the more carefully he thought he should proceed. Because one thing was clear - this was a very rare, and possibly unknown, animal. Ogden felt simultaneously excited and cautious. If this discovery was as significant as he was beginning to think it was, then it was essential that it be properly documented.

Up the beach, Jacobs was still shouting at the official, who kept shaking his head stubbornly. Damn bureaucrats, Ogden thought. Why shouldn't he take pictures? It couldn't harm anything. And it was vital to document the creature.

He heard an engine revving, and looked up to see a second Jeep arriving in the bay, trundling down the coastal road. This Jeep was weather-beaten and muddy green, with the United States Coast Guard insignia on its door. In the glare of the setting sun, he could barely see the sign.

He turned back to the carcass, noticing now that the hind flipper of the animal was reduced in size compared to the front one. It suggested that this creature spent its entire life at sea, never coming to land. That was odd; turtles lived at sea, yes, but they always returned to land to nest; and no lizard was permanently confined to water.

He worked quickly now, for the light was fading and he had much to do. With every specimen, there were always two major questions to answer, both equally important. First, what was the animal? Second, why had it died?

Standing by the belly, he saw the skin was split open, exposing the rib cage. But as Ogden looked more closely, he saw that the split was in fact a wound, exposing red muscle and pale bone beneath; the more he looked at it, he realised it was a bite. Something had attacked this creature and torn a chunk of flesh from it. But what predator would go after a creature this size?

"Sorry about all this," Jacobs said, coming over. "But the Coast Guard just refuses."

The Coast Guard officer was nervously following Jacobs, standing beside him, watching carefully.

"Bill," Ogden said. "I really need to take pictures."

"I'm afraid you can't," Jacobs said, with a shrug.

"It's important, Bill."

"Sorry."

Farther down the beach, the Jeep still hung, watching the discussion. Men in Coast Guard uniforms began getting out.

"Bill. What do you think this animal is?"

"Well, I can only guess," Jacobs said. "From the size, I'd say it was an alligator, possibly escaped or released. It's extremely large, of course."

"No, Bill," Ogden said. "It's not a gator."

"Before you say anything more," Jacobs said, conspiratorially, "I think you ought to know that several anomalous carcasses have shown up in this area. Nobody's quite sure why; some say that new species are appearing, but…"

"This is one of them, then."

Jacobs blinked his eyes. "What are you saying? It's a gator"

"I don't think so," Ogden said.

Jacobs said, "You're probably just thrown off because of its size. The fact is, here, we occasionally encounter these aberrant carcasses - "

"Bill," Ogden said coldly. "I am never thrown off. And I am telling you, this is not a gator," Ogden said.

"I'm sorry," Jacobs said, shaking his head. "But I can't agree."

"I'm not asking you to agree," Ogden said. He turned back to the carcass. "To settle this, all we need do is excavate the head, or any of the limbs."

Suddenly, they heard shouting on the beach, and looked up to see the men from the Coast Guard truck running down the beach toward them. They carried explosives and detonators, and were shouting inaudibly.

"What are they saying?" Ogden asked, frowning.

Jacobs sighed. "They're saying to get back."

"Tell them we're busy," Ogden said, and bent over the carcass again.

But the men kept shouting, and suddenly there was a roaring sound, and Ogden looked at the explosives and detonators they were carrying. Running around the carcass toward the men, he screamed, "They're going to destroy the carcass. No!" But the men paid no attention, as they approached the corpse, to which Ogden shouted, "No, this is a priceless - "

Suddenly, they turned to see a small convoy of vehicles approaching fast. The car in the lead's engine whined as it barrelled down the road toward them. The car pulled a hard right, going off the road, span around the Coast Guard vehicles, and squealed to a sideways halt, silhouetted in front of their headlights. The car in the lead was a boxy, black 1986 Ford LTD. Beside it was a truck, with a large trailer.

Two people got out, a man and a woman, each dressed in worn khakis. The woman walked up to them and said, "We'll take it from here." Ogden went, confused, "Who the hell are you?" The people flashed an ID and the man went, "We're here on behalf of Richard Hoenikker. He wants the carcass brought to him at once." The Coast Guard looked at each other, confused; how did he find out?"

The carcass was hauled out of the sand with a crane and placed on a truck. As the truck left, the man turned to the Coast Guard officer and said, "Please don't write any paperwork about this", before he got into the sedan and drove off.

Ogden was the first to speak, "What the hell just happened?"

Lincoln Loud's alarm clock squawked its incessant tune, to which the eleven-year-old awoke groggily. In the haze of tiredness, he looked at the time; 6:30. That was confusing; why would he set the clock half an hour early…

Suddenly, his father's voice yelled from downstairs, "Kids! We're leaving in ten minutes!" Lincoln suddenly snapped awake; suddenly he remembered what today was and why he'd set his alarm clock early. Their vacation day.

Lincoln and his sisters, all having the same realisation, jumped out of bed, pulled out their suitcases and travel bags and begin packing. Everyone packed their swimming costumes and beach clothes. Lynn packed two volleyballs (two, just in case she lost one; you could never be too careful) in her case and Lucy packed her Edwin bust in hers. Luna packed up her stuff and grabbed her guitar case, Luan placed Mr. Coconuts inside of his travel case, and Lincoln put Bun-Bun inside of Lincoln's suitcase.

Having all packed, the Loud kids go downstairs, where Lynn Sr. and Rita, who was holding Lily, were standing at the front door. Lynn Sr. asks, "You kids ready?", to which they all nodded, and Rita tells them, "Then let's get rolling!" At this statement, they quickly packed up Vanzilla and took their seats inside. Lynn Sr. took the driver seat as Rita finished putting Lily in.

Once Rita sits down in the passenger seat, Lynn Sr. cranks the car and they drove off. Once they were on the road, Lincoln began to speak to the viewer, "That's right, folks! It's our vacation and we're spending the whole week at Aloha Beach. The best part? All of our friends will be there!" He asked Lori, "Right, Lori?"

Lori was on her phone, fingers taping away, "Literally everyone is going to be there: Carol, Becky, Dana, Teri, Whitney, Tad, Joey," Lori frowned, "Who's bringing his little brother along," Lori looked over to Leni, "Even Chaz." Sitting next to her, Leni gasped and beamed, "This is going to be, like, the greatest week ever!"

Luna nods, "You said it, dude." She pulls out a flyer, which had the title _Top of the Docks _upon it, "There's going to be this music fest around the nearby docks, and Sam and her buds are going to be playing it!" In response to this, Luan joked, "That sounds like it's going to be ri-_dock_-ulous! Hahahaha! Get it?!"

Lynn span a volleyball on her finger, "I can't wait to get there and smoke some wimps in beach volleyball!"

Lucy smiled, "I'm just hoping to see some shark attacks."

"Impossible, I'm afraid." Lisa explained, "Aloha Beach has not had a shark incident since 1993, so it is unlikely that one would occur now." Lisa then smiles, "However, what will occur is Darcy teaching me the art of granular rock architecture." Noticing her siblings looking at her, she said, "Sandcastles."

Lynn Sr. chuckled, "Alright, kids! I know you're excited to have fun with your friends, but let's not forget why we're doing this!" Rita took over., "We're going to spend time as a family, since this might be Lori's last vacation with us.", to which the kids nonchalantly agreed with their mother.

Suddenly, Lori heard her phone ringing. Swiping it and listening to the voice on the other end, she gasped, "It's Bobby! Hi, Boo Boo Bear!"

"Hey, babe! I've got great news! I talked it over with my Mom, and she's letting me, Ronnie Anne, and Carlota drive to Aloha Beach to spend the week with all of you!"

Lori beamed, "OMG! That's literally the best thing I've heard all day!" She enthusiastically said to her family, "Bobby's coming, you guys! And he's bringing Ronnie Anne and Carlota with him."

Lincoln spoke, next, his voice excited, "No way! I can't wait to see Bobby and Ronnie Anne!"

Lori sighed, "This is so romantic. I'll get to spend a week with my Boo Boo Bear, and Lincoln will get to spend time with his girlfriend!". In response, Lincoln shouted, "She's not my girlfriend!", to which everyone scoffed.

After that, Leni turned to Luan, "Luan, what about you? You didn't tell us what you're going to do."

Luan smirked in response, "I've got a whole mess of vacation pranks I've been saving, and with all the fresh, unsuspecting beachgoers, I've got more victims than I could ask for! You know what they say: pun in the sun! Hahahaha! Get it?!"

Her family groaned at the pun, until Lynn Sr. announced, "Here we are, kids!", pulling up to a hotel overlooking the beach, "The Aloha Beach Motel!" Rita turned to the kids, "Now, remember, everyone. Best behavior while we're here. Remember what happened at the Royal Woods Spa."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The kids piled out of the car, leaving their parents behind. Lynn Sr. waggled his eyebrows and said, "I wouldn't mind a repeat of that", to which his wife flirts back, "Save it for later."

Later that night, the family were all in their rooms; since there were only four beds, they'd all had to divvy it up. The parents had took the room with the double bed, whilst Lori and Leni had taken the room with the two single beds. Lynn and Lucy had taken the bunkbeds, whilst Lana, Lola and Lisa had taken the second pair of single beds, pushing them together, with Lily's crib nearby. In order to free up space for the others, Luna had taken the armchair in the room, and Lincoln and Luan had taken the floor. As the lights went out, everyone settled in. Before he went to sleep, Lincoln looked up and sighed, "This is going to be the best vacation ever."

**You have no idea, Lincoln…**

**I've decided to delete and repost this fic, since I've got some new ideas on how I want it to go; next update will be soon.**

**The inspiration for this was sthompson1's A Very Loud Summer and the Amblin films of the 80s and 90s, such as _The Goonies_, _Gremilns_ and _Jurassic Park_. This title is a reference to a chapter in Michael Crichton's The Lost World.**

**Can anyone guess the identity of the carcass? If you get it correct, you probably have an idea of what is going to be an important aspect of the plot. Clue; the summary says "prehistoric sea monsters"...**


	2. New Meetings, Old Encounters

**Hello, again! Sorry for the extra-long wait!**

**The carcass in the first chapter is not a shark, a dolphin or a whale. There's going to be more hints as to its true nature at the end of this chapter; it'll be put in the context of a bigger, stranger phenomenon.**

The next day, as the hot sun beamed down on Aloha Beach, the Loud kids walked out of their motel room, already dressed in their swimsuits. Lori was holding Lily, Luna was carrying her acoustic guitar, Luan was carrying Mr. Coconuts, and Lucy was holding her bust of Edwin. Lincoln waved to his parents, "Later, Mom and Dad!"

Lynn Sr. and Rita waved in response and Lynn Sr. told them, "Have fun, kids!" Rita reminded them, "We'll be out later to spend time with you guys!" Lynn Sr. slyly smiled "But first…" They closed the door, and then Lynn Sr's hand came out, putting a Do Not Disturb sign on the door handle and giving the OK hand signal.

The kids all ran outside the motel towards the beach. As they approached, Lucy, Lynn and Lisa split from the group. Lucy said, "Later, everyone.", before sitting next to an area that was shaded by trees, "I'll just be here waiting for a shark attack to happen."

Lisa shrugged, "You're just wasting your time, Seventh-eldest-sibling." Lisa found Darcy, who was wearing a white shirt and beige shorts, playing in the sand with Rafo, her stuffed giraffe, and walked over, "Greetings, Darcy." Beaming, Darcy said, "Hi, Lisa!", and held up her shovel and pail, "Ready to learn how to make sand castles?" Lisa answered Darcy's question, "Is an electron negatively charged?" Darcy looks confused, "So… yes, then?" When Lisa nodded, she yelled, "Hooray!"

Lynn rushed to the volleyball net where she found Margo, "Sup, Margo?!" Her friend turned to her and eagerly said, "Hey, Lynnsanity!" They high-fived and Margo asked, "Ready to kick some butt?" Lynn spun the volleyball on her finger, "I was born ready!"

The rest of the group found Bobby and Ronnie Anne on the beach, setting up some beach blankets and an umbrella. Bobby was wearing his red trunks and Ronnie Anne was wearing a purple one-piece swimsuit.

Approaching them, Lori waved, "Bobby, Ronnie Anne!" Bobby looked in their direction, "Lori!" Passing Lily to Luna, Lori ran over to Bobby, hugging him, "Oh, Boo Boo Bear! I've missed you!" Smiling at his girlfriend, Bobby said, "I've missed you too, babe."

Lincoln walks over and waved at Ronnie Anne, "Hey, Ronnie Anne." "Hey, Lincoln." Ronnie Anne playfully punched Lincoln in the arm, "How's it hanging, lame-o?" Smiling bashfully, Lincoln rubbed the part of his arm Ronnie Anne punched, "Pretty good." Ronnie Anne then gestured to her friend, Sid, standing behind her, "Lincoln, you remember Sid." Smiling, Lincoln shook hands with the Asian girl, "Hey, Sid!" Beaming, Sid replied, "Hey, Linc!"

Scanning the air, Lori asked, "Where's Carlota at?" Bobby pointed over his shoulder, "She's changing into her new bikini. She'll be along any second."

Moving some distance away, Luna sat down, placed Lily on one of the many blankets, and said, "There you go, Lil." She picked up her guitar and started strumming, "How's 'bout a sing-a-long, little dudette?" Lily clapped and happily said, "Iddy-iddy-pida!" Luna winked, "You got it!" and started playing to the tune of Itsy-Bitsy-Spider.

As everyone settled in, Lori looked down the beach and saw all her friends approaching, yelling, "Hey, guys!" As everyone gathered around, Carol hugged Lori, "Hey, Lori! Ready for the best week of summer ever?" Her friend replied, "You know it!" Becky waved to Lincoln, "Hey, Lincoln!", who waved to her in response, "Hi, Becky." Leni walked over to Chaz, smiled shyly and said, "Hi, Chaz", whilst Chaz waved to Leni, "Hi, Leni!"

Lori authoritatively said, "Enough pleasantries!" She pulls out her phone, "Who's up for a graduate selfie?" Becky shook her head "Not yet, Lori. Joey had to stop to use the bathroom." Lori sighed, "Dang it.", before shrugging, "Oh, well. We can wait."

Luan, speaking through Mr. Coconuts, told herself, "Well, I'm sick of everyone in this group. What do you say we go find some victims?", before replying, "I'm with you, Mr. Coconuts!"

Before she could walk away, Lori stopped Luan, "Hold it, Luan! I told Joey that his little bro could hang out with you!" Luan whined, "But I've got people just waiting to be pranked! A kid will just slow me down." "Oh, relax." Lori chuckled knowingly, "I think you'll be more than happy to have him."

Joey finally showed up, dressed in a pair of boardshorts, "Hey, everyone. Sorry I'm late." Standing next to him was his little brother, and Luan's crush, Benny, "You remember my little brother, Benny." Benny waved, "Hi!"

Luan gasped and Mr. Coconuts' jaw drops open. She whispered to Lori, giving a huge smile, "Thank you.", before placing Mr. Coconuts with Luna and Lily, "Can you watch Mr. Coconuts for me, Luna?"

"No prob, dude." Luna keeps playing as Lily crawls over to Mr. Coconuts.

The dummy slumped over towards Lily, who hugs the dummy, "Coco!"

Luan walked over and waves to Benny, giving her best flirty voice, "Hiiiii, Benny." Benny noticed Luan and waved back, "Oh, hi, LuAAAAH!", before being cut off by Luan pulling him away from the group. Luan chuckled, "Let's go! The chickens are ripe for the plucking; Or should I say, pranking?!"

As the two kids left, Bobby notices, "Oh, here comes Carlota now!" Bobby walks over to his cousin and says, "Everyone, this is my cousin, Carlota!"

Carlota was wearing a pale blue two piece, which showed off her plus-sized figure. She waves, "Hi!" Lori walks over and hugged Carlota, "Hi, Carlota!" Carlota hugged her back, "Hey, Lori!" As they break the hug, Carlota smiles, "It's so good to see you again."

Lori led Carlota over to her friends and siblings, "Carlota, I'd like you to meet my friends: Carol, Becky, Dana, Teri, Whitney, Chaz, Tad, and Joey." Lori's friends all greeted Carlota, except for Joey, who simply stood there, staring at Carlota, dumbstruck. Before he could say a word, Joey's nose began to bleed and, three seconds later, passed out and everyone to react in disgust, except for Lincoln, who rolled his eyes, and Carlota, who asked, "Is he OK?". Her voice was tinged with concern.

Lincoln, rolling his eyes, walked over and examined the young boy, "Yep. I've seen this before. He should be fine in a couple of minutes."

Lori changes the subject and says, "Carlota, you remember Lincoln."

Carlota beamed, "Of course!", before bending down to Lincoln's height and pinched his cheek, "How could I forget Ronnie Anne's little boyfriend?" As Carlota stood back up, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne screamed indignantly, "I'm/he's not her/my boyfriend!" This, sadly, caused the group of high schoolers to go, "Aaaaaw!" Basically, they weren't helping their cases…

Leaving an embarassed Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, Lori looked to her other siblings, "And you remember my sisters…" Leni approached Carlota, "It's so good to see you, Carlota! That swimsuit is totes adorbs on you!"

"Thanks! I like yours, too! That green totally goes with your eyes!", to which Leni smiled, "You think so?" Carlota nodded, "Absolutely!", before walking over to Luna and Lily, "Hey, Luna!",

Luna, smiling, said, "Sup, mamacita?" before giving the goats to Carlota. Lily walked over and slightly jumped, wanting Carlota to pick her up. Fortunately, Carlota did just that and said, "Well, hello there, cutie!" Lily wiggled and giggled in Carlota's arms.

Raising an eyebrow, Bobby asked, "Hey. Where's the rest of Familia Loud?", to which Lori shrugged, "Off doing their own things."

Lincoln whispered to Ronnie Anne, "Hey, Ronnie Anne. How would you like to leave this bore fest and go have some real fun?" Ronnie Anne nodded and tells Bobby, "Hey, Bobby! Me and Link are gonna go hang out, K?" As the two rushed off, Bobby waved, "Have fun!" and Lori ordered, "And be safe!"

Ronnie Anne asked, "Where are we going?"

Lincoln answered, "You'll see!"

Meanwhile, Mayor Allen Sternberg sat, hunched over his desk, worrying. A small, thin, balding man, Mayor Allen Sternberg was nervous about pretty much anything; he was a worrier and a hypochondriac. However, his current worry was about something pretty important; the aberrant forms.

He'd grown up in the town; he'd heard all about the strange reptillian corpses that would occasionally wash up on the shore. However, he had never believed that they were real… until he'd become Mayor. His predecessors had, presumably, learnt the same. It was all about having everything upended; your attachments to the truth broken.

The public had bought the decomposing dolphin or basking shark story many times; however, all stories run out of steam. The most recent one had been examined by a damn marine biologist before they'd managed to take it away; what happened if he squawked?

Suddenly, the door opened and he looked up to see a man in a black suit standing in his office. The man smiled, "Mayor Allen Sternberg, I presume." Stenberg nodded, "You would be correct." The man looked around the office and said, attempting to be conversational, "Parking was a nightmare. But, that's the high tourist season, I guess.

"If you are talking about the recent, ahem, incidents, you'll find we had them all under control… And they were all simply decomposing dolphins or basking sharks." The man went, "Cut the crap; we both know they weren't. And haven't you had five in the past six months? They've been turning up more regularly than they used too, didn't they?" He put the photos on the table.

Mayor Sternberg's bones chilled at the memories present in those pictures. A small marine reptile with long, tooth-filled jaws. A huge, long-necked marine reptile, over forty feet long. A gigantic squid, lying deflated like an enormous balloon. A huge turtle, with a missing flipper. Finally, the most recent of the bunch, a twenty-foot marine reptile.

At Stenberg's discomfort, the man chuckled, "You have been mismanaging the situation to an almost hilarious extent." Stenberg, at once confused and indignant, said, "How so?" The man shook his head, "You've only ever been considering these things in isolation; you never gave a thought as to where they might come from. We've been looking into these things too; we believe there's an ecosystem out there, the likes of which we can't imagine."

Stenberg recoiled; it all made sense. After a few minutes, he said, "What do you suggest we do?" The man turned to leave, "Watch the sea, Allen. Watch the sea." And he walked out the door, leaving Allen speechless.

**The first chapter will be edited to mention Sid. She'll be shipped with Clyde (who we'll see next chapter) in this story.**

**As devoted fans will notice, I've slightly bumped up Darcy's intelligence. I did this so their conversations felt more equal, rather than "wouldn't it be funny if super-genius Lisa had to converse with an actual four-year-old". BTW, I love writing those two; they're like Pinky and the Brain.**

**Anyone guess what the animals mentioned at the end are? If you do, then you'll guess a lot of the story. Here's a hint, google "Late Cretaceous marine reptiles". **


	3. Dragons of the Abysmal Slime

Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Sid ran down the beach to finally find Clyde standing by a secluded area of the beach, waiting for his friends. As they approached, Lincoln waved, "Hey, Clyde!"

Clyde smiled, "Lincoln!", before noticing Ronnie Anne, "Oh! Hey, Ronnie Anne! Didn't expect to see you." Ronnie Anne grinned, "Good to see you guys, again." Gesturing to Sid, Ronnie Anne said, "Clyde, this is my friend, Sid."

Clyde introduced, "Nice to meet you! I'm Clyde, Lincoln's best friend." The two shook hands, "Any best friend of my best friend's friend is a friend of mine!" Sid smiled, "Thanks..." She then gave a confused look about what he just said, "I think."

Confused, Ronnie Anne asked Lincoln, "What's all this about?" Lincoln smiled knowingly, "Ronnie Anne, how would you like to go on…", looking back and forth, as if to make sure no one was listening, "A sea monster hunt?"

Back with the teenagers, Luna finished a song for Lily, who was still hugging Mr. Coconuts.

_If you're happy and you know it_

_Then your face will surely show it_

_If you're happy and you know it_

_Clap your hands_

Lily giggled and clapped excitedly. Suddenly, Lucy walked over, "Hey, Luna." As Luna recoiled in surprise, Lucy placed Edwin on the blanket, "Can you watch Edwin for me?" Luna shrugged, "Sure thing, Luce." As Lucy disappeared, Luna joked, "With any luck, Lincoln might ask me to watch Bun-Bun next." Lily looked at Edwin and whined softly, scared of the vampire bust and hugging Mr. Coconuts even tighter.

As Luna strummed, she hears a familiar British voice, "Hey, Luna!" Turning her head, to see her roadie and pal, Chunk, "Hey, Chunk! What are you doing here, dude?"

"I'm here for the music fest, mate." He points over his shoulder, "And I'm not the only one."

To Luna's surprise, she saw Sam and her friends, all of whom were in their swimwear, with Sullivan (or "Sully" as he was known) in black trunks, Madison (or "Mazzy", as she was known) in a purple one piece, and Sam herself wearing jean shorts and a blue bikini top.

Luna would have said hi, but she was too entranced by how cute Sam looked. Blushing, she went, "Ba… ba… ba… ba…", before slapping herself, "I mean… hey, Sam!", and giving her friends the goats, "Sup, dudes?"

Sam and her friends sat down with Luna and Lily, "Hey, Luna!" Chunk told Luna, "I found these kids broken down on the side of the road and decided to give 'em a lift." Sam smiled, "Your friend is a life saver, dude! If he hadn't come along, we would've had to walk all the way here!" Luna grinned, "Sweet! Thanks, Chunk!", to which the burly man shrugged, "No worries, Love. Any mate of Luna's is a mate of mine."

Lily waddled over to Sam, "Tam! Tam!" Sam picked up Lily and sat the little baby on her left leg, "Hi, Lily!" Sam playfully made baby talk at Lily, making the tot laugh uncontrollably. Sam chuckled, "She's so cute! I'll trade you my bro for her."

Luna chuckled, "Sorry, Sam.", as she ruffled Lily's little tuft of hair, "This little girl ain't for sell."

Chunk sat next to Mr. Coconuts and Edwin, asking, "Got yourself an audience, I see?"

"Yeah," Luna joked, "But as my sister would say, one's dead and the other's a little wooden." After they all share a laugh, Luna asked, "I was actually about to sing the ABC's for Lily. I think I could use some back up."

Sam nodded, "No problem!", asking Lily, "Would you like that, Lily?" Lily claps, "Poo-Poo!" Luna chuckled, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

As Luna began to strum, Joey finally woke up from his nose bleed coma. He stands up and rubs his head, "What happened?" Tad explained, "You got a nose bleed and passed out."

Cringing, he went "Oh. Right.", before he re-joined his friends, all relieved to see him alright, "Sorry about that, you guys. I don't know what came over…" He stopped himself as he saw Carlota again, seeing the same vision he did before passing out. He blushes and stammers, "Ba… ba… ba…"

Lori smiled, "Glad you're OK, Joey!" Yanking her phone out, she yelled, "Graduate selfie!" Everyone gathered into a group… except for Chaz. Concerned, Leni asked the portly boy, "Chaz, why aren't you taking a picture with them?" Chaz sighed, "It's just for graduates. I… I didn't graduate." At this, Leni gasped, "Oh, right! I guess that's why I didn't see you at Lori's graduation."

Chaz rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah. Everyone felt bad for me, so they invited me along anyway." Noticing how sad he looked, Leni smiled and wrapped her arms as best she could around him. He smiles, "Thanks, Leni." He returns the hug, "Chaz like hugs." Leni giggled and joined his speaking in the third person, "Leni like hugs, too."

As the group of high schoolers finished their selfie, Carlota asked Joey, "Are you OK? You took a pretty nasty spill there." Joey couldn't muster the words and started speaking in gibberish. Carlota looks perplexed by his words, "Pardon?"

Joey choked out an introduction, "I-I'm J-J-Joey!" In response to this, Carlota giggled, "Well, J-J-Joey, I'm Carlota. Bobby's cousin."

As she reached out her hand for Joey to shake, he felt his knees begin to shake, "Uh….. I GOTTA TALK TO BOBBY!" He rushed off, leaving Carlota to shrug at his behavior.

Lori and Bobby were hugging each other, Lori cooing, "Oh, Boo Boo Bear. I can't wait to spend some quality time with you." "Me too, babe." Bobby feels a tap on his shoulder and looks to see Joey, "Hey, Joe! What's up, bro?"

Joey gulped; this was not an easy question to ask, but, well, it didn't hurt… "Uh, Bobby… Is your cousin… seeing anyone?" Bobby shook his head, "No. Why?" Joey hesitated to answer, but it was Lori who caught on and asks, "Joey… do you like Carlota?", to which Joey blushed, "Maybe."

Lori, being the teenage girl that she is, gushed, "OMG! That is literally so adorable!" Joey sighed, looking over at Carlota, "I don't know what it is. I just took one look at her and… well, you saw the blood. She's more beautiful than a straight A+ report card."

Bobby tells him, "So, go talk to her, bro."

Joey shook his head, "I can't! I tried to, but I got so nervous. My knees were shaking, my hands were sweating like crazy, I was getting tongue-tied." He groans, "Who am I kidding? A girl like her would never go for a guy like me."

Lori assured the nerdy teen, "Sure, she would! Carlota is a very sweet girl; she doesn't care what you look like, just as long as you're sweet, too." To emphasise her point, Lori pointed towards Chaz and Leni, "Just like my sister, Leni!" Joey asked, still sounding unsure, "Are you sure?"

Lori chuckled, "Sure, I'm sure! You just need a little help!" Turning to Bobby, she asked, "Bobby, I know we said we'd spend time together, but first, what do you say we help Joey?" Bobby thought out loud, "Well, it's a little weird playing matchmaker for my cousin," He takes Lori's hands and smiled, "But for you, babe, anything!"

"Yes!" Lori told Joey, "Let's get started."

Back over at Lisa and Darcy, Darcy put the finishing touches on her little castle, putting a small flag on top of it, "And that's how you make a sand castle!", before turning to Lisa and asks, "How's yours coming along, Lis…" Her jaw dropped at what she saw, "Woah."

Lisa had constructed a huge replica of an actual castle, "Do you like it? It's Bodiam Castle of East Sussex, England." She pulls out some architecture blueprints, "I already made a composite sketch for Neuschwanstein Castle next. A suitable second castle, wouldn't you say?"

Darcy smiled and hugged Lisa, "SANDCASTLE TWINS!" Suddenly, the two friends noticed a turtle inside the castle, "Look! A turtle!"

Lisa notices the turtle taking refuge in her castle, "I'll be."

Meanwhile

The two friends hugged each other. It was impossible not to get lost in the occasion; they'd been present for something marvellous. The turtle would return to the sea, her eggs would hatch and, hopefully, one of them, however many years later would return to this very beach.

The exhausted mother turtle hauled her way back into the sea. She had done this every two years for most of her life; however, hauling herself back into water still wasn't easy. She wasn't built for living on land; the only reason she came to land was to nest.

Eventually, the waves picked her up and she was back in the ocean again. Back in her home environment, she began to swim around in search of food. The mother turtle suddenly froze. She sensed a predator nearby; a very large one, too.

She was fast.

It was faster.

**Sorry for the whopping wait; things got in the way.**

**So the prehistoric sea monsters are starting to come into the narrative; well, one in particular is. This is your first introduction to Leviathan.**


End file.
